Refrigerator car construction



Dec. 9, 1941. c. o. CORNWELL REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed March 11, 1940 2 sheets- -syeet l 1 g W/ W g, n: w y 1/ v A W y W Z m y m v M M g N W W WR W W 5 W a W M 2 p M W W m// W M/ v M M H W I m: m

WW A m 1, W9 Q W M m/ a y fix W W JV W "W Patented Dec. 9, 1941 REFRIGERATOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Charles 0. Cornwell, San Marino, Calif., assignor to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturin; Company, a corporation of Delaware Application March 11, 1940, Serial No. 323,252

2 Claims.

The invention relates to railway rolling stock and more particularly to so-called refrigerator cars which are used to transport perishable commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, berries, frozen foods and fish. Such commodities must be maintainedat a substantially even temperature to avoid decay. Heat or refrigeration is applied to the commodity while in transit depending upon the weather. (such as potatoes and oranges) generate heat and gases which must be removed by ventilation. A railway car, therefore, to haul perishable commodities must be arranged to cool, heat or ventilate the commodity while in the car. This applies, of course, if the car is running or standing still.

Various fruits, such as oranges from California and Florida, apples from Washington and Oreson, and various vegetables from Salton Sea in California, Colorado, Illinois, and Georgia are loaded into the refrigerator cars and shipped; i.e., the cars actually start moving with destination'unknown and without any consignee. To facilitate selling the commodity while en route grades for quality have been established. Units for 'volume have also been established by adoption of a standard size box for each fruit and the size of the fruit is designated by the number of that'fruit in the box (which is stenciled on each box) and the number of such boxes which can be loaded in a standard size refrigerator car is a unit. To be more specific, the inside dimensions of a conventional end bunker refrigerator car are approximately 40' long, 8' 3" wide and '1' 0" high and an ice bunker is positioned at each end of the car so that the loading space between the bunkers is about 33 feet. Such a car will hold and refrigerate 462 boxes of oranges or 420 boxes of lemons from California and such number. of boxes constitutes a unit of the specific fruit of a known grade and size.

When the owner (usually through a cooperative association) sells his fruit the shipment is diverted while en route to the purchaser. It requires approximately seven days to transport fruit from California to Chicago; ten days to New York and twelve days to Boston and this system allows the owner to take advantage of changing market conditions.

If the commodity is not sold en route it is consigned to one of the several perishable commodity auction markets in the larger cities where it is sold before it becomes unusable.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved railway car, automotive truck or other transportation vehicle which has insulated walls, floor and roof to retard heat transmission therethrough and is provided with means to refrigerate, heat or ventilate the lading within the vehicle.

Another object is to provide a partition (or partitions) to divide the interior of the vehicle Certain commodities partitions are preferably arranged to prevent pilfering and arestrong enough to resist the tendency of the load to shift.

The separate compartments are preferably pro-.

vided with doors so that the lading may be moved into or out of either compartment without disturbing the lading in the other compartment. A door in each side wall of each compartment is preferably provided, which doors may be opened, closed or locked independently of each other.

Another and very important object is to provide economical transportation for perishable products moving from points of production to distant markets by providing means of loading two full carloads in one car. With the means herein disclosed, the present sales units are not altered and the haul of empty equipment, which is deadweight non-paying tonnage, is reduced by one-half.

One of the objects is to provide a partition having a space therein communicating with the upper and lower parts of both of the lading compartments on opposite sides thereof, and ,further to provide a heating means 'within vsaid space so that the heat will rise to the tops of (preferably both of) the lading compartments and the air being cooled by the lading .will be drawn in said space from the bottom thereof.

Another object is to provide an air circulating means, such as a rotary fan, to augment the speed of the circulating air and, if desirable, to change the direction of the circulating air so that the heated air will enter the lower parts of the separate compartments and return to said space through the upper part thereof. The air circulating fan is preferably positioned above the heating means.

Another object is to provide such a partition as heretofore described with the addition of refrigerating means within the space in the partition so that the car may be heated or refrigerated therefrom. One of the objects of this arrangement is to humidify the circulating air by melting ice with the heater and circulating the humidified air by means of the air circulatingfan.

Another object of the invention is to place refrigerating and himidifying means at. the opposite ends of the car; that is, remote from the heating means which may be used with or without the refrigerating and humidifying means within the partition.

The principal object of this invention is to provide'a pilfer-proof partition in a transportation vehicle 'to divide theinterior of the vehicle into two separated and independent lading compart- Y ments, wherein eachcompartment is provided with doors for loading and unloadingithe compartments'independently of each other, and further preferably providing heating and air circulating means within the partition.

Inthedrawingsz 7 a 7 t a Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal vertical cross sec- Fig. 2 is similar to Fig. 1 except that refrig- ;,erating means are also shown'within the partition.

ing means in. the ;ends of the car have been omitted.

a Fig. 4 is a cross sectionof the typical refrigerator car shown in Figs. 1, 2 and3. V

Figs. 5v and firillustrate the forms of the in-' 7 vention shownin Figs. 1 and 3 respectively;

The drawings are diagrammatic and all structural details have been omitted. The vehicles are Ispace v 6 below the foraminous floor 5 and rises 7 through or between the lading, and being heated thereby, again enters the dues 3233 through the opening 34 above the bulkhead. Fuel feed- In the modification shown inFig. 2, the ice baskets 40 and 40 are shown between the bulk- Fig.3 is likeFig; 2 except that the refrigeratheads and 42 and the space 43 is provided between the ice baskets 40- 40 for the heater J3 and air circulating fan 20. The convective circulating of" air caused by the melting oi the ice in the baskets is shown by the arrows. As stated before, the fan may drive the heated or refrigerated air either upwardly or downwardly. The hatch opening I8 communicates with the ice basket 40 for fueling and also with the space 43 between the ice baskets for ventilation.

Themodification shown inv Fig. 3 is similartov that shown in Fig. 2' except that'the refriger-' ating means at the ends of the car havebeen omitted. j q IT} .Thedescription of the ice basket. andlassociated parts in Fig. 1 will also sumce for Figs.

2 and 3.

preferably symmetricalaround the center lines I.

In thedrawin'gs the' side walls are designated as I; end walls 2; roof 3, and floor 4. The ve-. hicles areprovided with a ioraminous secondaryfloor 5 spaced'above the insulated floor 4 of the vehicleto provide an air circulating space 6 below the lading. r

The construction of Fig. 1 shows a partition extending between the opposite side walls vI and ;from the top of the secondaryforaminous floor 5 to adjacent the ceiling 3, so as-to provide two 1 separated lading compartments II and 12. The

' partition comprises spaced apart bulkheads I IP14 with a space. 15 therebetween having air communication with a space 6 below the foraminous secondary floor and also with the upper Theaccompanying drawings illustrate the pre-. ferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notrlimited to the exact details ofconstruction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modiparts of the lading compartments II and I2, as

shown by the arrows. Within this space I5 I pro- 3 vide aheating means l9 and an air circulating means (preferably a fan) 20 which forces the air heated by'the heating means into both of said lading' compartments. The bulkheads I3-l4 are preferably insulated to retard heat leakage which -woul'd interfere with the convective circulation. I preferably place the fan 20 above the heating means 19 so that the fan will drive the heated air intorthe space'S below the foraminous'floor 5 from whence it rises through or between the lading, and being cooled thereby, re-

turns to the space l5 through the openings 22 abovethe bulkheads. Any heater may be used, I such as the common charcoal heater or gas heater. A small door may be provided in the i side wall. of the vehicle for fueling, inspecting and servicing the heater. The air circulating fan may be operated from the axle or wheel of 1 one of the trucks or by a storage battery and is preferably arranged to force the air upwardly or downwardly. The netting 23 in the opening 22- between'the top of the bulkhead l4 and the 1 ceiling 3 is to prevent pilfering. Fig. 1 showsa refrigerating means at each end of the vehicle, which means comprises a foraminous ice basket 30 and grating 3| to support ice with a vertical flue 32-33 on each side of the basket sothat air therein, being cooled by the ice, falls to the cations thereof, within the scope'oi the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art. I

1. In an insulated transportation vehicle hav ing a foraminous secondary floor to provide an air circulating space below the 'lading, in eombination with spaced apart bulkheads adjacent the middle of the car forming separated lading compartments in the vehicle, the space between said bulkheads having air communicationwlth, the said space below the foraminous secondary floor and with the upper parts of said lading compartments, heating means, ice containing means and air circulating means all in the space between said bulkheads and arranged to operate simultaneously whereby air heated by said heating means and moistened by the meltage of said ice may be forced into both of the lading compartments. I V i 2. In an insulated transportation vehicle hav-.' ing a foraminoussecondary floor to provide an air circulating space below the lading, in combination with spaced apart bulkheads adjacent the middle of the car forming separated lading compartments in the vehicle, the space between said bulkheads having air communication with the said space below the foraminous secondary floor and with the upper part, of said lading compartments, a pair of ice, baskets "in the space between said bulkheads and separated therefrom to provide a vertical fiue' therebe- -tween, said baskets being spaced apart to pro-1 CHARLES o. coRNwELL. 

